Telecom Survivors Lick Wounds At Economic Summit 2Telecom Survivors Lick Wounds At Economic Summit 2

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP)--Not so long ago they were among the brightest stars at the elite Alpine gathering of global movers and shakers. This year, the telecommunications company chieftains still standing can't even fill a room.

"We're in a survivor mentality now," David Dorman, chairman and CEO of AT&T Co., told a less-than-packed session Monday at the World Economic Forum on the outlook for his beleaguered industry.

Former giants like WorldCom have filed for bankruptcy. Once-celebrated titans and forum regulars, like WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers, Deutsche Telekom's Ron Summer and France Telecom's Michel Bon, are out of jobs and out of sight.

Those on the telecom panel were suffering from more than Monday morning blues: cutthroat competition for fewer and fewer new customers, enormous debts run up to buy licenses for next-generation services, but little cash to invest in upgrading networks and equipment.

"I had a bad dream that one day I woke up and was chairman of AT&T," Dorman joked.

The gloom is certainly not confined to the telecom sector, as other execs roaming the halls will confess.

In telecom, though, it was not that long ago that companies thought nothing of spending tens of billions on licenses for next-generation mobile services.

Now, new investment is shrinking as many telecoms struggle to stay afloat.

German equipment maker Siemens saw a 20% reduction of investment in networks last year and expects another 20 percent drop this year, said board member Volker Jung.

Pondering ways to raise cash, panelists discussed new business models, charging commissions from content providers, and the quest for a lucrative new "killer application."

The last was SMS--short message service--quick text messages that can be written and sent on wireless phones. They generate enormous profits for European phone companies and are starting to catch on in the United States.

Japanese mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service, which allows users to send E-mails and download pictures, could be another success outside Japan as well, but networks have to be upgraded for mobile data transfer to be a hit.

"I think speed could be another kind of killer app," said Edward Tian, chief executive of China Netcom Corp., who suggested a new business model based on the airline industry, where those who pay more get a better class of service.

John Riordan, CEO, chairman and president of United Pan-European Communications NV in the Netherlands, told the panel he was successfully charging customers for extra bandwidth.

"When I became chairman I banned 'free' as a word," he said. "If you build it, they will come. If you give customers the choice, they will pay."